Islamabad:
Senator Ali Zafar, a member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), asked the President of the Supreme Court Yahya Afridi to delay the appointment of new judges before the Apex court until the issuance of the age of the judges of the court Superior Islamabad.
Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf Senator (PTI) wrote a letter to the President of the Supreme Court, asking the President of the Court to postpone the JCP meeting scheduled for Monday (today) to consider filling eight vacant seats from the judges in The Supreme Court.
“This is to request the postponement of the JCP meeting scheduled to be held on February 10, 2025 until the issue of the seniority of the judges of the Superior Court of Islamabad is decided in accordance with the law,” he wrote to the president of the president of the Justice Court.
He said that he was concerned about the “controversy around antiquity” list of IHC judges, which exploded after the transfer of judges to the IHC under article 200 of the Constitution and a new list of seniority of the judges was issued .
He referred to the transfer of three judges, one of the higher courts of Lahore, Sindh and Baluchistan, to the IHC on February 1. After the transfer, the IHC issued a new list of seniority that placed one of the judges transferred so the highest judge.
Senator Ali Zafar said that five IHC judges had elevated the objections to the new seniority list and four judges of the Supreme Court seated, therefore, the creation of a new list of seniority “seriously undermined” the perception of the independence of the Judiciary.
He also mentioned the objections raised by the Supreme Court and the judges of IHC, who said in their separate letters the President of the Supreme Court that the transferred judges could be considered new appointments and administer a new oath of charge under article 194.
Senator Ali Zafar also pointed out that four judges of the Supreme Court “had also increased the fear of” judicial packaging “in the Supreme Court”, adding: “This perception will cause lasting damage to the administration of justice.”
Emphasizing that “the community among the judges is of the utmost importance”, Zafar declared that the Judiciary derived its effectiveness “from the perception of the impartiality and independence that it encourages, which is necessary for citizens to voluntarily accept their orders and judgments “.
PTI’s senator said that the general public’s perception and many in the legal community that these developments could be linked to the high profile appeals presented by the founder of PTI Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, who were pending before the IHC.
“The JCP meeting for the appointment of judges to the Supreme to be held on February 10, 2025 has a direct link with the problem in question,” reads the letter. “To avoid such perceptions and maintain public trust, it is important that the JCP acts with greater care and caution,” he added.
The JCP, responsible for the judicial appointments, was reconstituted to include four members of Parliament after the 26th constitutional amendment. Monday’s meeting (today) was called to fill eight seats vacant with judges in the Supreme Court.
Only a couple of days ago, the senior judge of Puisne of the Supreme Court, Mansoor Ali Shah, and Judges Munib Akhtar, Athar Minallah and Ayesha Malik went to a letter to the President of the Supreme Court Aphridi, asking him to delay the appointment of New judges to the decision of appeals on appeals of the appeals. The 26th amendment.
The letter requested that Monday’s meeting postponed until the challenge was decided to the 26th constitutional amendment, or at least until the Constitutional Bank decided the pleas of a complete judicial hearing, and until the age of the IHC was finally determined.
The judges said that the “existing and continuous state of affairs and certain recent developments” had forced them to make the request. They pointed out that the challenges for amendment 26 were persistent and languishing before the Constitutional Bank.
